Executive Profile: Lou Raizin

President of Broadway in Chicago works to keep theater — and city — center stage

November 04, 2013|By Kathy Bergen, Chicago Tribune reporter

Lou Raizin, president of Broadway in Chicago. (Rick Tuma)

Broadway in Chicago President Lou Raizin, who prefers to work behind the scenes, has one academic milestone he's happy to tout: getting tossed out of high school.

As technical director for a student production of "Sweet Charity," he and the show's director broke the rules by sneaking into their suburban Detroit school one night to finish the set for the next day's rehearsal. They toiled through the night, only to be busted in the morning by the theater teacher, who found them asleep in the orchestra pit. The principal, none too amused, sent them home for a day.

"It's one of the things I joke with my wife about," Raizin said. "Growing up as a kid, you always hear there's a 'permanent record' … so I don't know, it might be out there somewhere."

Seated in the company's wine-red conference room, its walls lined with stage show posters, he laughs at the memory. A few minutes later, the theater executive acknowledges that the incident offers a glimpse of who he is: "I don't let anything go. I will work on projects until they get done."

Raizin's impatience to accomplish goals quickly, a knack for savvy real estate plays, an aggressive style of negotiation and an ability to navigate the halls of political power have left an indelible imprint downtown. The 13-year-old Broadway in Chicago that he leads is not only a dominant player in the theater scene, but Raizin himself is a force in the city's tourism efforts.

"I take no prisoners," Raizin said, describing the negotiating skills he sharpened when he was in the scrappy outdoor concert business. He has put those skills to use in assembling five downtown theaters as venues for shows, and in establishing the city as a market for long-running productions rather than just a quick tour stop.

Broadway in Chicago brings a wide array of offerings to the city, from Broadway hits to shows preparing to run in New York, the latter representing a growing slice of its business. Shows such as "Wicked," "Book of Mormon" and "Kinky Boots" take the stage in its ornate historic theaters. The company is one of the enterprises of New York's Nederlander family.

The company does not share financial results, but its scale is evident in its attendance numbers. On behalf of various show producers, it sells up to 1.7 million tickets a year — close to the 2.2 million attendees at McCormick Place last year — and draws tourists from across the Midwest to an increasingly vibrant downtown, where they book 640,000 hotel rooms a year.

"Wicked," which drew 2.9 million patrons on its last long run here, returned for another stint Wednesday, just ahead of Halloween. Three shows are expected to have tryouts here next year before heading to Broadway, including "The Last Ship," conceived and composed by Sting, and "Houdini," with Hugh Jackman.

The organization continues to face criticism that its omnipresence in the media and its 2011 success in winning state tax breaks to bring in pre-Broadway tryouts and long runs can make it difficult for smaller Chicago theaters and their homegrown projects to gain recognition.

"It's great for audiences to be able to see a lot of the shows they bring in … but it can be problematic at times when Broadway in Chicago drowns out the rest of what's going on in Chicago," said Tony Adams, artistic director at Halcyon Theatre in the Albany Park neighborhood.

Raizin sees it differently: "We may be the guys who make a lot of noise and stand there and beat the drum. At the same time, we'll support a lot of the work that takes place in the city in any way we can."

He cites Broadway in Chicago's sponsorship of the League of Chicago Theatres' annual Emerging Theater Award, which provides financial and consulting assistance to the winner.

Roche Schulfer, executive director of the Goodman Theatre, the nonprofit powerhouse that competes downtown with Broadway in Chicago, sees its rival as a "gateway for producing new theatergoers."

"'Wicked' created a whole new generation by virtue of getting teenagers to the show," he said.

A number of competitors and associates also say Raizin's commitment to civic involvement has helped the organization garner good will within Chicago's theater world, which has grown to more than 250 League of Theatres members from about 150 in 1999.

"They are really good citizens, and you don't see that with road presenters in other communities," said David Hawkanson, executive director of Steppenwolf Theatre Co. on the Near North Side.

Going rogue

Raizin is a major backstage player in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push to increase tourism, especially among big-spending international visitors. Tourists buy 42 percent of Broadway in Chicago tickets, with long-run shows pulling from a five-state region.

The growth potential is significant: Tourists buy more than 60 percent of Broadway tickets in New York, a much bigger destination for foreign visitors.